John Watson Laurie was tried and convicted at Edinburgh in 1889 for the Arran murder. The victim was Edwin Rose, a London clerk, whose acquaintance Laurie made while on holiday in Rothesay.

They went together to Arran, where on 15th July they climbed Goatfell. Rose was never again seen alive. On 4th August Rose's body was found hidden beneath a boulder on the mountain, his head battered in and his pockets rifled. Laurie successfully evaded capture until 3rd September, when he was taken in a wood and attempted suicide.

Tried for the murder he was found guilty and received sentence of death; but this was commuted to penal servitude for life on the ground of insanity.